METRO shelves $10.5 million bike share program, vows to expand other microtransit solutions – Houston Public Media
Houston's bike share future is again up in the air after METRO planners shelved a $10 million plan to disperse electric bike stations around the city.
The plan would've been a lifeline for riders who once relied on BCycle— the city's former bike system vendor that shuttered after financial disputes.
The transit agency began talks and approved its own version of a multi-million dollar bike share system last fall, "as a complement and enhancement to our mass transit network," METRO Chief Financial Officer George Fotinos said.
It was expected to launch over the summer.
"Since that time as presented in our budget goals earlier today, METRO has renewed a focus on increasing our system ridership and improving the customer experience for the here and now," Fotinos said.
He said the agency has found other ways to address first and last-mile connectivity, referring to the distance people travel to reach transportation stations. METRO has since doubled down on microtransit by investing more money in their on-demand curb2curb services— the highest growing mode of METRO transportation, Fotinos said.
METRO's board of directors last September approved the $10.5 million agreement with Canada-based PBSC Urban Solutions, a company that has bolstered successful bike share programs in New York, Chicago and Boston.
The potential system would've included 140 e-bikes, 20 grid-connected charging stations and 200 charging dock points, according to board documents.
However, a contract with the organization was never executed.
If that's any indication of the agency's priorities— public transportation advocates say their agency is only limiting microtransit options for travelers by axing a potential bike share system.
Joe Cutrufo, executive director for Bike Houston, said bike share stations are a service that's on demand, and available around the clock.
"It's something people can use for short trips and essentially it makes the transit system more useful and attractive," Cutrufo said.
"METRO's board of directors voted a year ago to invest in a world-class bike share system because, at the time, METRO was run by people who understood that bike share can effectively expand their service area by helping people access destinations that might be too far to walk," he said.
If METRO's bike share network ever comes back up for consideration, the transit authority will work with the University of Houston's Hobby School of Public Affairs to conduct a feasibility study first.
"The bike share feasibility study is currently in the discussion phase, so we do not have a timeline or further specifics," Doug Delony, a METRO spokesperson said Monday.
Elizabeth Gonzalez Brock, the METRO board chair who was appointed by Houston Mayor John Whitmire in February, said earlier this year that she's interested in expanding microtransit- touting a vision for METRO to operate a rideshare service like Uber or Lyft .
"There are lessons to be learned from other cities," Cutrufo said. "It's not clear to me yet what Houston's bike share future looks like. We know that there's a need for it. I am pretty confident we will see bike share on Houston streets again."
